The Basic Meaning of “Lethwei” 

In the Burmese language, when the word “လက်ဝှေ့” “Lethwei” is used, most people understand its meaning immediately. They would likely define it as “a martial art involving punching.”

The word “Lethwei” is a combination of two words: “Let” (လက်) and “Hwei” (ဝှေ့). “Let” refers to the hands, while “Hwei” refers to the act of “brandishing” or “swinging.” It literally means “swinging one’s hands.” For those fluent in Burmese, this meaning is understood intuitively without needing an explanation.

However, a situation that still occurs occasionally is the confusion between “Lethwei” and “Boxing.” This mix-up is found among both foreigners and locals alike.

If asked, “What is the difference between Lethwei and Boxing?”, the explanation can be quite lengthy. It can be addressed through two lenses: linguistic terminology and martial arts techniques. While these two areas overlap and influence each other, this article aims to focus primarily on the terminology.

Where the Confusion Starts 

So, how should we refer to “Lethwei” in English?

To break into international communities and markets, using English becomes more or less a necessity. When “Lethwei” is translated into English, it is often rendered as “Boxing”.

From a direct linguistic translation perspective, this is correct. Since “Lethwei” is a shorthand for the act of striking or swinging one’s fists, “Boxing” is considered the closest and most appropriate equivalent. Therefore, even today, you will see “Lethwei” translated directly as “Boxing” in writing and speech.

However, this creates a point of confusion.

In Western countries, “Boxing” is both a common English word and a specific combat sport established under that name. To foreigners, especially those within the combat sports community, “Boxing” is recognized as a distinct, standalone system. They understand “Boxing” to be a striking art where only the fists are permitted. No other body parts may be used for attacking.

In Myanmar, “Lethwei” involves not just punches, but also knees, elbows, kicks, and even headbutts. This discrepancy in techniques often leads to misunderstandings when “Lethwei” is translated as “Boxing.” Foreigners often ask: “If Lethwei involves other body parts, why is it called boxing?” This is because, for most foreigners, “boxing” implies only the use of fists.

Why “Kickboxing” Doesn’t Solve It 

This brings us to another term – “Kickboxing”.

One might ask: “If ‘Boxing’ does not fully capture the essence of Lethwei, why not use ‘Kickboxing’ instead?” In the term “Kickboxing,” the “kick” signifies the use of the legs; thus, it is essentially “Boxing that includes kicks.” Technically, this is much closer to Lethwei. However, they are not identical. While you can kick in Kickboxing, certain rule sets may prohibit the use of knees or elbows.

In other words, neither “Boxing” nor “Kickboxing” can fully represent “Lethwei” in terms of technical systems or rules. Lethwei permits a wider variety of striking techniques. Furthermore, there are fundamental differences in regulations, such as the practice of fighting bare-knuckle.

The Proliferation of Hybrid Terms 

Regardless, for a certain period, Lethwei was translated into English as Boxing or Kickboxing. At one point, to recognize the differences between the technical systems of Myanmar and the West, terms such as:

• Burmese Boxing
• Myanmar Boxing
• Burmese Kickboxing
• Myanmar Kickboxing

were used. In this regard, if one wanted to acknowledge the traditional nature of Lethwei, the word “Traditional” was added to create terms like:

• Traditional Burmese Boxing
• Traditional Myanmar Boxing
• Traditional Burmese Kickboxing
• Traditional Myanmar Kickboxing

By this stage, the reader will recognize a problem.

As seen above, there are at least eight different variations used when speaking of Lethwei in English.

Choosing between Boxing and Kickboxing, Myanmar and Burmese, and whether to include Traditional; this variety has led to ongoing confusion. Explaining these details to uninitiated foreigners or even among fellow citizens is a long and complicated task.

Why Standardization Became Necessary 

This issue became more significant over time. It became an obstacle in branding and advertising aimed at making Lethwei officially well known and gaining a world class audience. This situation creates a fragmented approach where everyone gives a different answer. The lack of a single, consistent term can reduce the appeal to interested fans. Explaining Lethwei in this manner is also a waste of time and effort.

Consequently, the Lethwei community must establish a standard to make the sport more accessible to people.

It is true that a direct translation of “Lethwei” is “Boxing”. It is also true that Lethwei is technically closer to Kickboxing.

However, because the term that best represents the sport is simply Lethwei, the practice of pairing it with Boxing or Kickboxing was eventually reduced, and people began using the term “Lethwei” when speaking in English.

On “Traditional Lethwei” and Longer Labels 

One point remains that there have been commentaries that the term “Lethwei” is incomplete. They argue it should actually be standardized as “Traditional Lethwei”, or even better, “Myanmar Traditional Lethwei”. While such terms can be appropriate for high level academic papers or historical discussions, people prioritize faster and shorter terminology in practical social communication.

Specifically, when communicating with international audiences, using “Traditional Myanmar Lethwei” is not as effective as the more direct and impactful “Lethwei”. As written above, for branding and advertising to international audiences, the word “Lethwei” is a unique, interesting, and easy to remember proper noun.

Lethwei will continue to be occasionally called “Myanmar boxing” or “Myanmar kickboxing” by some English-speakers who are not familiar with the sport. This will likely never go away. After all, those terms are their natural reference point to the sports they are familiar with and find similarity with in Lethwei. The same thing happens to Muay Thai – people who don’t know can still call it “Thai boxing” or “Thai kickboxing”.

The difference is that Muay Thai has gotten a global branding foothold strong enough that someone can inform the mistaken people that the sport is officially called “Muay Thai”, and the mistaken people are likely to have heard about the term “Muay Thai” passingly enough that they can recognize the official term.

With the standardization of “Lethwei” and continuous global promotion, it can also reach a similar brand recognition.

FAQs

1. What does “Lethwei” literally mean?
The word combines “Let” (hand) and “Hwei” (to swing or brandish). In plain terms, it refers to swinging or striking with the hands.

2. Why does translating Lethwei as “Boxing” cause confusion?
Because English speakers associate boxing with fists only. Lethwei also uses elbows, knees, kicks, and headbutts, so the comparison breaks down quickly.

3. Why not just call it “Kickboxing”?
Kickboxing still doesn’t fit cleanly. Many kickboxing rules ban elbows, headbutts, or bare-knuckle striking, all of which are central to Lethwei.

4. Why were terms like “Burmese Boxing” or “Myanmar Kickboxing” used?
People were trying to explain Lethwei through familiar English combat sports terms. The result was multiple overlapping labels that created more confusion than clarity.

5. Why is standardizing the name important?
A fragmented name weakens branding and public understanding. If ten people describe the same sport using ten different labels, international recognition becomes harder.